Battery-terminal-fastening device



A. F. HAWKINS.

BATTERY TERMINAL FASTENING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 2. 1920.

1,355,396. Patented Oct. 12, 1920.

j llHLllm A I l 5555 27? um'rao STATES ALDA F. HAWKINS, OF FORT WORTH,

TEXAS.

BATTERY-TERMINAL-FASTENING :onvrcn.

Application filed June 2,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALDA F. HAWKINS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Fort Worth, in the county of Tarrant a d State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Battery-Terminal-Fastening Devices, of which the following is a specification his invention relates to new and useful improvements in battery terminal fastening devices.

The invention has particularly to do with certain improvements over the construction known in my co-pending application, filed April 5th, 1920, 'S. N. 371,458. The-particular improvements have to do with provisions whereby the same type of resilient 'fastenings which is used to secure the post or terminal in the cap may also be used as a packing between the cap and the terminal plate which as economy and uniform-HZ in manufacture as well as replacement; further improvement which 1s involved is that of more adequately cleaning the fastening element and the packi member.

In carrylng out the invention a terminal post is provided with an or other radial projection and the up er edge of the opening in the cap surroundlng the post is provided with an annular seat below the flange of the post. The post is preferably provided with a circumferential groove conti ous to the annular seat, A resilient or e as'tic ring or the like is flush below the flange and received in the groove, whereby it also engages in the seat. The lower edge of t beveled or otherwise formed toprovide an annular seat for a resilient or elastic ring which surrounds the base .of the 0st and rests on the terminal late. It wil be seen that the same' type 0 the base of the post which is used in the groove thereof, and also that the battery terminal is yieldably supported whereby it is iven some play with relation to the cap and at the same time a ti ht joint is had so that no liquid can pass etween the post and the cap,

The invention will be more readily understood from a reading of the followingspecification and by'reference to the accompanying drawings, in which an example of the invention is shown, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion Specification of Letters Patent.

will be obvious makes morel .through the annular shoulder he opening in the cap is.

ring may be used at Patented Oct. 12, 1920. 1920. Serial No. 385,944.

of a storage battery cell showing the cap fastened on the terminal post in accordance with this invention,

F g. 2 is a plan view of the same, dig. 3 1s a longitudinal sectional View, an Fig. 4 is a plan view of one of the rings.

In t e drawings the numeral 19 designates a hard rubber cap of the cell of an ord na storage ,battery which is constructe 1n the usual manner. The cap has a vertical openinfg ll for, receiving the termlnal'post 12 o the usualterminal plate which latter is secured to the battery 18 best shown in Fig. 3.

wardly as tic ring 16 is slipped down around the post 12 so as to rest on the late 13 and to be received in the seat 15. This ring or gasket prevents the solution from passing out opening 11 as will be obvious, .of course, provided that the parts are in close contact. g

The terminal post 12 is provided with a circumferential hangs the groove and is positioned slig above the top .of the cap 10. Th of the post above the flan e is finished in the usual way. An annu ar seat 19 surrounds the upper end of the opening 11 in the to of the cap and is beveled inwardly. In or er to fasten the cap in position an e remalnder recess 17 and the seat 19. The groove lZ being concave, the tendency of the ring is to work under the flange and thus more firmly engage in the seat 19, whereby the will be forced downward and the caused to ride into the seat 15- as be obvious. The ample bevel given to the seat 15 permits the ring 16 to wedge firmly into the same thus providing a very effective packing and at the same time gives a 'yieldable connection as will be obvious.

As before stated it is preferable to make the rings of rubber and particularly of a grade which will have a high degree of acid resistance; but it is obvious that the rings do not necessarily have to be made of rubher and it is obvious that a split metallic ring might be used in place of the ring 20. It will be observed that the groove snugly i post 12. If the ring receives the ring 20. It is further pointed out that the ring will have such an ample bearing in the groove "and also in'the seat 19 as to render accidental displacement substantially impossible. In fact the ring will seat with such tenacity that a tool will be required to remove said ring 20, before the cap can be disengaged from the terminal post. It will be seen that when it is desired to remove the cap it is merely necessary to ry the ring loose, and remove it from the 20 is injured in removing it may be easily replaced by a new one. It is believed that the invention which has been described will'to a large extent eliminate broken cell caps and will certainly make for cheaper repairs.

It is pointed out that both rings may be made'of rubber or similar elastic material and when so made are interchangeable. This makes for economy and quick assembly. Howeverit is not my intention to limit the invention to the use of a rubber ring and this has particularly to do with the fastening ring 20.

What I claim, is:

1. In a battery terminal fastening, the combination with a cell cap having an opening formed therethrough, said cell cap being provided upon its lower side with a tapered seat increasing in diameter downwardly, a terminal post extending through said opening and provided near the upper surface of the cap with an annular groove which .is curved in cross section, a stop element carried by the lower end of the terminal post and projecting laterally beyond the same and adapted to be arranged beneath the cell cap in proximity to the tapered seat, a highly elastic and circumferentially expansible and contractible ring carried by the lower end of the terminal post and arranged between the stop element and the tapered seat, and a second highly elastic and circumferentially contractible and expansible ring adapted for insertion within said groove and to contact with the upper portion of said cap, the last named ring tending to move downwardly with relation to the cap when contracting within the annular groove.

2. In a battery terminal fastening, the

extending flange above the groove, a stop element carried by the lower end of the terminal post and projecting laterally beyond the same and adapted to be arranged beneath the cell cap in proximity to the lower tapered seat, a highly resilient and circumferentially expansible and contractiblering carried. by i post and arranged between the stop element and lower tapered'seat, an d. a second highly resilient and circumferentially contractible and exp ansible ring arranged within said groove between the flange and upper seat, the last named ring tending to move 'downwardly with relation tothecap when contracting within said groove.

3. In a battery terminal fastening, the combination with a cell cap having an opening formed therethrough, of a terminal post extending through said opening and cap when contracting in its groove, a stopelement secured to the lower end of the terminal post, and a resilient circumferentially expansible and contractible ring surrounding the lower end of the post and confined between the stop element and lower portion of-the'cap.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

, ALDA F. HAWKINS.

the lower end of the terminalprov vided near the upper surface of the cap 4 

